Nightmares
by BroodyCheery323
Summary: Damon can sense Stefan's fear and anxiety. He goes to see what's wrong with him and discovers he's having nightmares. Damon;Stefan BrotherFic. NO SLASH. OOC/Fluff


**AN:** Hey guys! This is something that randomly came to me last night while I lay in bed trying to fall asleep (for three hours!), and I HAD to write it. This is OOC and is completely for the purposes of brotherly love and is PURE FLUFF! What can I say? I love these two! : )

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stefan or Damon (shame) nor do I own The Vampire Diaries, although if I did we would be seeing WAY more Stefan and Damon brother moments ;P

* * *

Stefan's eyes shot open and he quickly sat up, gasping for air. His eyes darted around the still dark room before settling on the clock next to his bed. 1:03 AM the bright lights flashed. Stefan sighed and shook his head.

"A dream. Just a dream." He mumbled repeatedly.

Stefan's bedroom door creaked and Stefan whipped his head around to see Damon casually leaning against the doorframe. His arms were crossed and he stared curiously at Stefan.

"What?" Stefan demanded, annoyed with Damon's silence and staring.

Damon cocked an eyebrow and slowly made his way further into the room. He looked at Stefan closely. Sweat beaded on his brow and his breathing was slightly more accelerated than usual. Damon's brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Stefan stared with an incredulous expression at his older brother. Was he kidding? Damon wasn't exactly the caring concerned big brother. Since when did he care what was wrong with him?

"Nothing." Stefan mumbled.

Damon rolled his eyes. "I could sense your anxiety from down the hall. Add that to the physical signs and it's clear that something is wrong with you."

Stefan was again surprised by his brother's attentiveness. He was tuning into his moods and sensing him? Damon usually only did that when he had another creative way of driving him crazy. Stefan shook his head and didn't answer Damon.

Damon again rolled his eyes. He seemed to do that a lot around Stefan. His little brother was just so damn frustrating. Stefan wanted to be unreasonable? Fine. Damon would do the same.

Stefan watched in confusion as Damon climbed on the bed and sat next to him; his back resting against the headboard.

"What are you doing?" Stefan demanded.

Damon turned to face Stefan, a cheeky grin on his face. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me." He explained.

Stefan glared. "Why the hell do you care so much?"

Damon tsked. "Don't delude yourself, brother. I only care about my own sleep, which I'm not getting, Thanks to your anxiety breaking into my subconscious."

Of course. Stefan thought. It's all about Damon. It's _always_ about Damon. Still, Damon's words did not possess his usual biting and condescending tone. Ugh, he was far too tired to be analyzing Damon's actions.

Damon watched Stefan's face closely. While he did plan on sleeping at some point tonight, he had not been asleep when Stefan's mind broke though. Besides he wasn't all that worried about sleeping. Strangely he found himself more concerned for Stefan.

If he was being truthful, he had been freaked out. Damon had been home for less than twenty minutes when he suddenly felt an unexplained fear. It hadn't taken him long to realize that it was coming from Stefan. His brother may be good at pretending but not with him. Never with him. He could see just how scared Stefan truly was. Damon decided a different strategy was in order.

"Talk to me, Stefan." He said gently, so different from the tone he usually took when addressing his brother.

Stefan eyes shot up from where they were currently attempting to burn a hole through the blanket. His face took on an expression of surprise when he turned to face Damon. Stefan listened closely for any sign of Damon's sarcastic, arrogant voice…nothing.

"I…it's nothing, Damon, really. It was just a dream…" Stefan tried to explain despite his confusion at the current situation.

Damon nodded. "What about?" He asked, still with the same gentle tone.

Stefan shrugged. "Honestly, I can't remember. I just woke up feeling very - "

"Scared." Damon finished for him. "I could sense it." Stefan nodded.

Damon watched as Stefan again tore his eyes away from him and stared at the blanket. If Damon knew his brother at all, which he did, than Stefan would not be going back to sleep anytime soon.

Xx

_A ten year old Damon's eyes fluttered open. He sat up and glanced around the room, looking for whatever it was that had woken him up so abruptly. A whimper to his left brought his attention to the bed next to him and the small boy who occupied it. Stefan…_

_Damon watched his little brother toss and turn in his bed. Small whimpers escaping his little body. Damon sighed and tossed his blanket off of him. Standing he made his way to Stefan's side. _

_Damon shoved Stefan slightly. Stefan's eyes shot open and he stared wide-eyed at Damon standing next to his bed. _

"_Damon?" Stefan whispered, tears running down his cheeks. _

_Damon smiled softly and grabbed Stefan's blanket. "Move over, little brother. " _

_Stefan blinked up at Damon but moved. Damon sighed and moved to lie on his side next to Stefan. Stefan smiled through his sleepy haze. Damon wiped the tears off Stefan's face and ruffled his hair.  
_

"_Go to sleep."_

Xx

_An eleven year old Stefan quietly pushed his bedroom door opened. He turned his head from side to side, looking down the dark hall, before quickly making his way across the hall. He pushed the door open softly and stepped into his fifteen year old brother's dark bedroom. _

_Stefan looked frantically around the room before walking up to Damon's bed. His brother looked to be sound asleep. Stefan tugged at Damon's sleeve._

"_Damon? Damon are you awake?" Stefan whispered._

_Damon grunted but otherwise gave no indication that he was awake, or had any intention of waking up. Stefan eyes filled with tears._

"_Damon, wake up please." Stefan said a little louder. _

_Damon's eyes slowly fluttered open and he stared at his little brother in confusion. _

"_Stefan, what are you doing in here?" Damon whispered. _

_Stefan opened his mouth to respond but closed it quickly. More tears welling up in his eyes. Damon took notice of the tears in his brother's eyes and sighed. He scooted over in his bed and pulled the blanket back._

"_Well, c'mon then. Get up here." Damon smiled. _

_Stefan gave him a small grin before climbing into the bed. Damon rolled his eyes but moved to accommodate his baby brother; he tossed the blanket over his head. Stefan laughed. Damon smirked and lay back down next to Stefan. _

"_Go to sleep."_

Xx

Damon shook his head of the memories of his than much younger brother. Stefan always did have nightmares. It shouldn't have surprised him to learn that he still did. He never could remember them back then either.

Damon sighed and grabbing a pillow tossed it at his brother's head. Stefan blinked in confusion and seemed to come out of his brooding trance. Stefan glared at Damon who grinned back innocently.

Stefan yawned suddenly and Damon decided it was about time they both got some sleep. He turned and flicked the bedside lamp off. Stefan watched curiously as Damon lay down. Damon reached out and grabbed the pillow he had thrown at Stefan, pushing it under his head.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked.

Damon rolled his eyes. _I'm sleeping in here with you like when you were younger because you have nightmares you can never remember that keep you from sleeping unless I do_. He though sarcastically. Damn his brother was dense sometimes.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He said instead.

Stefan opened his mouth to retort but closed it at the last second. Maybe it was his imagination, or his sappy memory lane thoughts, but he swore he saw the ghost of a smile on Stefan's face. And there was no doubting the recognition he saw in his brother's eyes. Stefan nodded and slowly lay down next to Damon.

"Thank you." Stefan said after several minutes of silence. Damon rolled his eyes and turned on his side. Knowing Stefan couldn't see his face, he smiled.

"Go to sleep."

* * *

Review and let me know what you thought please! : )


End file.
